The  Muster. 
Conf  Pam  12mo  #680 

DcH0bQfl5Q. 


No.  101 

THE  MUSTER. 


The  rules  of  service  require  ever)'  two  months  a  mus- 
ter of  all  the  forces.  It  is  preceded  by  a  review  and 
inspection.  Yesterday  was  muster-day.  No  one  was 
allowed  to  leave  the  post  that  day.  All  were  required 
to  be  present  j  the  Colonel,  the  other  field  officers  and 
staff,  all  the  company  officers,  and  every  private.  Every 
one  attached  to  the  command  must  be  shown  (this  is  the 
meaning-  of  muster)  or  accounted  for.  If  a  man  is  on 
the  sick  list  he  must  be  visited  in  the  hospital,  and  if 
absent  on  furlough  or  special  duty  he  must  be  vouched 
for.  All  this  particularity  is  required,  because  pay-day 
comes  after  muster-day,  and  the  pay-roll  is  made  out 
from  the  muster-roll.  At  pay-day  every  one  is  to  re- 
ceive liis  due,  and  to  make  this  sure  every  one  must  be 
verified  to  be  what  he  claims  to  be,  and  no  one  is  to  be 
allowed  as  a  substitute  for  another.  The  form  of  pro- 
ceeding is  to  break  the  battalion  into  companies,  open 
ranks,  and  then  the  Colonel  inspects,  critically,  every 
man's  arms,  equipments,  and  clothes.  Then  comes  the 
muster.  From  a  prepared  roll  of  each  company,  and 
in  the  presence  of  all,  the  name  of  every  man  is  called. 
Each  soldier,  as  he  is  called,  answers  in  a  loud  tone, 
Here!  and  brings  his  musket  to  an  order.  No  one  can 
be  overlooked,  for  if  his  name  has  not  been  called  he 
stands  in  the  ranks  with  his  gun  at  support,  while  all 
the  others  are  at  an  order.  This  makes  him  conspicu- 
ous. No  one  can  answer  twice,  or  for  another,  because 
his  musket  once  brought  down  must  remain  so.  No 
one  can  escape  by  being  on  guard,  or  in  the  hospital, 
for  the  guard-house  and  the  hospital  are  both  visited. 
When  all  this  is  done,  the  Colonel  certifies  the  correct- 
ness of  the  muster  to  the  Paymaster,  and  then  every 
man  receives  what  is  due  to  him.  My  office  required 
me  to  be  beside  the  Colonel,  as  he  called  out  and  veri- 
fied every  man  in  the  whole  regiment.  Each  company, 
as  it  is  mustered,  marches  from  the  parade  ground  to  its 

2*  1  *4-  §  ' 


M  THE    MUSTER. 

quarters.  I  thought  the  scone  was  a  suggestive  one. 
As  we   presented   ourselves   before  each  company,  the 

officers  were  in  front  with  their  swords  drawn,  and  the 
ranks  of  the  company  presented  an  unbroken  array  of 
glittering  guns.  As  the  calling  of  the  roll  proceeded, 
the  swords  of  the  officers  were  sheathed,  each  man  an- 
swered, Here!  and  one  by  one  the  muskets  were  brought 
to  the  ground — not  iy  regular  ordtr,  however,  for  the  roll 
was  made  out  alphabelically,  while  the  men  were  ranked 
according  to  size.  Sometimes  a  musket  went  down  on 
the  extreme  right,  and  sometimes  on  the  extreme  lell^br 
the  centre — now  in  the  front  rank,  and  now  in  the  rear 
rank.  Presently,  the  muskets  held  on  high  were  few 
and  appeared  scattered  here  and  there  along  ihe  ranks — 
then  only  one  or  two  were  left,  and,  finally,  every  one 
had  been  brought  to  the  ground. 

And  so  it  is,  I  said  to  myself,  with  every  generation 
of  men.  It  stands  at  first  an  unbroken  rank,  with  bur- 
nished arms  upheld.  Death  begins  to  call  the  roll,  and 
every  one  must  answer  to  his  name.  It  is  one  here, 
and  one  there,  and  he  answers,  and  his  musket  comes 
to  the  earth.  Presently,  the  generation  rank  looks  thin 
and  ragged,  but  the  calling  goes  on,  and  the  answering, 
and  the  grounding  of  the  arms.  Three  only  are  left! 
two  !  !  one  !  !  !  The  last  man  answers,  the  last  musket 
is  down,  the  generation  is  all  mustered.  None  escape. 
The  guard  are  called  in,  the  hospital  is  visited.  Even 
the  black  drummer  has  answered  to  his  name,  and  is 
mustered  too.  All  are  mustered.  And  after  one  com- 
pany is  mustered  it  marches  oft  to  its  quarters,  and 
another  company  is  mustered  and  marches  off  to  quar- 
ters, until  the  whole  regiment  is  mustered  and  marched 
off,  and  the  parade  ground  that  in  the  morning  was  so 
full  and  bustling,  by  noon  is  empty  and  still.  And 
thus  generation  after  generation  is  mustered,  and  passes 
off  to  the  house  prepared  for  all  the  living,  and  in  due 
time  this  camo  of  Earth,  witli  its  teeming  millions,  will 
be  mustered  and  in  quarters.  High  and  low,  rich  and 
poor,  while  and  black  —  all,  all!  Every  one  in  turn 
must  hear  the  call,  to  which  he  must  answer,  Here! 
He  must  be  verified,  and  he  will  be.  And  all  this  great 
muster,  what  is  it  for!     Fellow-soldier,  it  is  for  another 


THE    MUSTER.  3 

day,  greater  still,  the  great  pay-day  !  ••  Behold,  I  show 
you  a  mystery;  we  shall  nut  all  sleep,  but  we  shall  all 
be  changed.  In  a  moment,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye, 
at  the  last  trump;  for  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the 
dead  shall  be  raised  incorruptible,  and  we  shall  be 
changed."  Cor.  i,  15.  "And  I  saw  a  great  white 
throne,  and  him  that  sat  on  it,  from  whose  face  the 
earth  and  the  heavens  fled  away;  and  there  was  found 
no  place  for  them.  And  I  saw  the  dead,  small  and 
great,  stand  before  God  :  and  the  books  were  opened  :, 
and  another  book  was  opened,  which  is  the  book  of 
life:  and  the  dead  were  judged  out  of  those  things 
which  were  written  in  the  books,  according  to  their 
works.  And  the  sea  gave  up  the  dead  which  were  in 
it;  and  death  and  hell  delivered  up  the  dead  which 
were  in  them  :  and  they  were  judged*,  every  man  ac- 
cording to  their  works."  Rev.  xx,  11,  12,  13.  For 
God  •*  will  render  to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds: 
to  them  who,  by  patient  continuance  in  well-doing,  seek 
for  glory,  and  honor,  and  immortality,  eternal  life;  but 
unto  them  that  are  contentious,  and  do  not  obey  the 
truth,  but  obey  unrighteousness:  indignation  and  wrath, 
tribulation  and  anguish,  upon  every  soul  of  man  that 
doeth  evil:  of  the  Jew  first  and  also  of  the  Gentile; 
but  glory,  and  honor,  and  peace,  to  every  man  that 
worketh  good  :  to  the  Jew  first  and  also  to  the  Gentiles; 
for  there  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God." 

Do  not  fear,  fellow-soldiery  we  shall  certainly  receive 
our  due  at  the  great  pay-day.  As  we  cannot  be  missed 
at  the  muster,  so  we  shall   not   be   forgotten   at  pay-day. 

But  does  this  assurance  give  you  comfort,  or  does  it 
awaken  dread  ?  If  you  receive  what  is  your  due,  what 
will  it  be  ?  Alas  for  us,  for  all  of  us,  if  we  receive 
what  is  our  due.  But  see  now  the  wonderful  grace  and 
goodness  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ.  We  deserve 
nothing  but  eternal  death.  But  Christ  hath  died  for  us. 
We  have  no  righteousness  of  our  own,  but  "Christ  is 
the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that 
believeth."  "  What  shall  we  say  then  to  these  things? 
lfjjrod  be  for  us,  who  ran  be  against  us?  He  that 
spared  not  his  own  son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us, 
how  shall  he  not  with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things? 


J 


4  THE    MUSTER. 

"Who  shall  lay  anything  to  the  charge  of  God's  elect? 
It  is  God  tliat  justifieth  :  who  is  he  that  condemneth  ? 
It  is  Christ  that  died,  yea,  rather  that  is  risen  again, 
who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also  maketh 

intercession  for  us." 

Do  these  words  of  scripture  s<'em  unintelligible  to 
your  understanding?  or,  if  you  understand  them,  do 
they  fail  to  make  any  impression  on  your  heart?  Hear, 
then,  this  word  of  the  Lord:  "  I  will  put  my  laws  into 
their  minds,  an4  write  them  in  their  hearts:  and  I  will 
be  to  them  a  God,  and  they  shall  be  to  me  a  people; 
and  they  shall  not  teach  every  man  his  neighbor,  and 
every  man  his  brother,  saying:  Know  the  Lord  :  for  all 
shall  know  me  from  the  least  to  the  greatest.  For  I  will 
be  merciful  to  their  unrightness,  and  their  sins  and 
their  iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more." 

To  give  you  this  spiritual  understanding  is  the  work 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  the  Saviour  saiih  :  '<  Howbeit, 
when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  he  will  guide  you 
into  all  truth." 

And  now,  are  you  inclined  to  enquire  how  you  may- 
receive  this  work  of  the  Spirit  on  your  heart?  Hear 
'again  the  words  of  Jesus:  "Ask  and  it  shall  be  given 
you;  seek  and  you  shall  find;  knock  and  it  shall  be 
opened  unto  you.  For  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth. 
and  lie  that  seeketh  findeth  :  and  10  him  that  knocketh 
it  shall  be  opened."  Arid  again  :  "If  ye  then,  being 
evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  ?" 

This,  then,  is  tiie  sum  of  all  :  '*  Fear  not,  only  be- 
lieve," And  so  when  thy  summons  comes,  trusting  in 
the  atonement  of  the  Saviour,  thou  canst  at  the  last 
great  muster  humbly  butt  firmly  answer,  Here  J  and, 
pleading  the  merits  of  the  same  Saviour,  assuredly  ex- 
pect to  receive  from  the  great  Paymaster  the  reward  of 
a  crown  and  palm  of  victory,  and  an  inheritance  incor- 
ruptible, undefiled,  and  that  fadeth  not  away. 

PUBLISHED    BY    THE    SOUTH    CAROLINA    TRACT    SOCIETY. 

L'rintrd  by  Evaus  &  Cogswell,  No.  S  Broad  street,  Charleston,  S.  C. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
pH8.5 


X 


